DENVER -- Residents were being allowed to return to their homes Tuesday near a 4,100-acre fire outside Rocky Mountain National Park.

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The fire was 25 percent contained Monday night, 7NEWS reported. It is expected to be fully contained Saturday.

Residents of the Little Valley subdivision were allowed to return home Tuesday morning and residents of the Big Elk Meadows subdivision will be allowed to return home in the evening, said fire spokeswoman Debra Schofield.

Schofield said the Red Cross planned to set up a food station near Big Elk to feed homeowners. Electricity in the area was out and Xcel Energy could not guarantee it would be back by the evening.

Higher humidity was helping the 749 firefighters keep the fire from spreading. It was burning in mostly steep, inaccessible terrain. That made it too dangerous to put ground crews in most areas, and fire commanders were relying on water and retardant drops from two air tankers and seven helicopters.

Firefighters had spread foam and cleared brush from around the several hundred homes that had been evacuated in several subdivisions. Though evacuation orders were being lifted, residents were told to remain on alert.

U.S. Highway 36 was reopened to traffic, but authorities said it might be closed briefly again to allow for removal of debris from an air tanker that crashed Thursday, killing the two crew members.

Investigators, meanwhile, determined the fire was accidentally started on July 17 by faulty catalytic converter on a Jeep that had pulled over to the side.

The U.S. attorney's office said that the driver of the vehicle won't face charges because an effort was made to put the fire out and it was reported in a timely fashion.

Only one unoccupied historic cabin in one of Colorado's original settlements -- Homestead Meadows -- was destroyed. This area is located at the end of the 3-mile Lion Gulch trail and is home to eight historical structures that were built between 1889 and 1923.

The fire is located about 9 miles southeast of Estes Park, a popular tourist attraction and gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The cost of fighting the fire so far is $1.95 million.

Other Fires Across Colorado

North of Steamboat Springs, crews made progress at the Hinman Fire after the area received one-fourth inch of rain Monday. The 1,446-acre blaze, started July 12 by lightning, was 80 percent contained and full containment was expected by Thursday.

The Lost Lake and Green Creek fires south of Steamboat Springs were 5 percent contained, burning over 4,094 acres. About 300 residences were threatened, but there were no evacuations.

Crews fully contained the 31,300-acre Burn Canyon Fire burning west of Norwood in the Uncompahgre National Forest on Monday night.